librarylady19

Some great tips. We are Diamond and get 4 per day but still often wish to buy more. We will definitely get the beer buckets and "well cocktails" as well as investigating the "Drink of the day" if it's cheaper and save our Diamond "coupons" for the $13 cocktails!!

Thanks for the recommendations! Love the cat pic too. We have booked Jamies for both lunch & Dinner on upcoming Quantum Alaska cruise so we will definitly try both of those (and most of the menu I expect).....

Thank you for your wonderfully detailed review with lovely photographs. Seems you had a wonderful time. I just booked this exact cabin for a Caribbean cruise next year and was happy to hear you didn't experience any noise issues from your neighbors. This will be my 3rd time on Reflection - can't wait.

"Supply chain issues" cited in this article. https://www.cruisehive.com/more-itineraries-changed-for-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship/78051

Got that email too. Cruise planner isn’t updated so no way to see excursion options for “new” ports. Disappointed we aren’t going to Dawes glacier as we booked the small boat tour. It’s hardly a “full” day in Juneau, 7am to 3pm. I don’t think $100 OBC Is much compensation as I bet any new excusions we book will be at full price (we had booked ours early on). Oh well, first world problems …..

This spreadsheet, and subsequent posts, is for all S Class ships, Solstice being the original of the class.

Fantastic review and photos. Looks like you had a wonderful time and made some fantastic memories for your son! ‘ We are on Quantum in September so this was so helpful. What was your overall impression of the ship and your cabin?

Thanks for the in depth report and photos. We are on our first HAL cruise - Rotterdam to fjords - next May! Did you notice if there was smoking in casino and if so does it deep onto other areas too? Sure hope not.

That's good. Hope they have Alaskan beers on Quantum (9/5 sailing). We are Diamond so don't want to buy the full drink package but hubby wants more than 4 drinks a day😀

Do they still have the bucket (or bag) of beers special onboard?

Good on you!! Only cheap cruises on Royal for me from now on then I have lower expectations😀

Was the Brunch for Pinnacles. We are Diamond and are traveling companions Diamond + and we didn’t get an invite to that on our sailing.

Quite likely and that really wasn’t my issue. It is not hard to clean or replace stained and worn furnishings. Unless the cruise line is saving $$ by not investing on an old ship.

Sorry, but I don't consider it "belly aching" when there was an expectation of better given the cost. I do plenty of homework CK (I am a librarian after all 😀) I was asking for input from others who also found a cruise / ship to be below their standards and the best way to communicate that to Royal. If we cruisers blindly accept a ship's flaws, just because it''s old, there is no pressure on the cruise line to price it lower and/or update it. And, frankly, I had so many issues with previous cancellations with Royal, I just couldn't see cancelling due to negative opinions and having to deal with months of arguing over refunds again.

I agree. We paid $3200 for aft corner balcony for the 8 nighter - worth $2K imo

Agree that is true, but the price should be lowered appropriately then.

Thanks for the various insights and opinions - all are appreciated. In future I will not book any cruises on older ships, unless they have been recently updated. It is too expensive and exhausting to travel to risk our time and money. There is no excuse for stained and decrepit furnishings IMO. Others may disagree. This has helped me prioritize my future vacation dollars.

I did not as I didn't think there was anything they could do about it honestly. For example, our balcony was rusted, railing needed varnishing, chairs and table were in disrepair and windows sorely in need of washing. I doubt the ship's staff could fix all those issues. This seems to be more of an executive decision not to sink any $$ into older ships and focus on newer onesIMO I had sailed on Jewel in Feb. and, although also dated, it was in much better condition. Next 2 Royal sailings are on Quantum & Harmony so hopefully the issues of delayed maintenance will not be evident.

We recently returned from 8 night Vision OTS Med. cruise and were very disappointed in the cruise experience. We did fill out the online survey, but would like to direct some specific comments regarding the ship’s condition, food and entertainment (or lack thereof) to someone who might actually care and/or do something about it. Service was excellent on the ship, but it couldn’t make up for the appalling deterioration of the ship and furnishings, the mediocre food and the lack of variety in entertainment. This was by no means a “cheap” cruise so I expected much more for our money. I have contacted the CEO’s office in the past regarding a delayed refund but didn’t know if this was the most expedient route.